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Thoughts on Tipping

Jaffa Cake said:
You've not heard mine. :D

There was one occasion when we were in the Netherlands and we got talking to some Americans in a bar. One of my chums had to act as an interpretor as they couldn't understand me... :eek:
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Oh- do you have a really thick accent like Paul Weller or Ozzy Ozbourne? I can't understand a damn thing either of those two say. :)
 
Tips are a joke.

I wish places would just charge the extra 10-20% and pay servers a reasonable wage. That would stop the whole dumb debate about whether or not to tip and when or how much.

That being said, until such a thing happens, I leave around 20% in nearly all situations. Sometimes, I leave a little more and once or twice I've left nothing at all.

leekohler said:
Oh- do you have a really thick accent like Paul Weller or Ozzy Ozbourne? I can't understand a damn thing either of those two say. :)
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If you consider those thick accents, you really need to travel some more ;)
 
leekohler said:
Oh- do you have a really thick accent like Paul Weller or Ozzy Ozbourne?
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The former is from Surrey, the latter from the West Midlands – being from Yorkshire my accent is quite, quite different from both of those. And – to veer us back on topic – despite Yorkshire folk having a reputation for being tight with their cash I always tip where appropriate. ;)
 
Jaffa Cake said:
The former is from Surrey, the latter from the West Midlands – being from Yorkshire my accent is quite, quite different from both of those. And – to veer us back on topic – despite Yorkshire folk having a reputation for being tight with their cash I always tip where appropriate. ;)
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Hmm, the Yorkshire accent. Like that scene from the Holy Grail: "Let's not bicker and argue about 'ooo killed 'ooo..."

Or Jeremy Clarkson.
 
marbles said:
Clarkson is from The London area, Yorkshires more like the accent when the narrator stops speaking
Advert for Yorkshire Airlines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg :)
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[Shocked Silence]. Hmm...maybe the chicks won't dig that. Then again, The Beatles did fine with the ladies, despite the scouse accent (they don't sound as bad as Lister in Red Dwarf though).

I was under the impression that Clarkson was a Yorkshireman though...
 
Jaffa Cake said:
He's originally from Doncaster, in South Yorkshire.
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Lord Blackadder said:
[Shocked Silence]. Hmm...maybe the chicks won't dig that. Then again, The Beatles did fine with the ladies, despite the scouse accent (they don't sound as bad as Lister in Red Dwarf though).
I was under the impression that Clarkson was a Yorkshireman though...
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:haha :eek: , I didn't realize, maybe he's been in London too long and the accent rubbed off:confused:
 
ive thought about putting a negative tip on my credit card before when they auto tip a group of 4......


its up to me to give the tip, not for them to decide what their tip will be:mad:

had that happen once and i was furious when they included the tip in the bill when i was with 2 other friends in a restaraunt
 
dukebound85 said:
ive thought about putting a negative tip on my credit card before when they auto tip a group of 4......


its up to me to give the tip, not for them to decide what their tip will be:mad:

had that happen once and i was furious when they included the tip in the bill when i was with 2 other friends in a restaraunt
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They must know you...;)
 
Jaffa Cake said:
You've not heard mine. :D

There was one occasion when we were in the Netherlands and we got talking to some Americans in a bar. One of my chums had to act as an interpretor as they couldn't understand me... :eek:
Click to expand...

You sound perfectly lovely to me and I had no trouble understanding you. I think I was meant for the UK though, accents don't stump me. I can even decipher very thick scottish [highland] accents with minimal trouble.

How did we get onto this topic? Ah, yes, british tight-tippers. This may explain why some waiters/waitresses seem to put in minimal effort. It's as if they expect bad tips and behave accordingly. (not all, I have found the elusive good service here too) I tip accordingly. I am a good tipper when it's deserved and just average when the service is average. When it's poor I feel no guilt whatsoever about not tipping. A few of us MRoomerers had APPALLING (I mean seriously appalling) service at a Pizza Express on regent street and paid the bill down to the very penny so as not to leave any tip for the useless prick of a waiter we had. He was most un-thrilled. but then so were we. ;)
 
Personally I would rather just have them add 15% to the bill and be done with it, have you ever dined out with people who are cheapskates? It would take care of that problem entirely. I don't want to feel like a dick because some person at the table doesn't feel like they must tip the waiter.

If the waiter sucks balls, talk to the manager.
 
I generally leave a good tip, but agree that the world might be a better place if we eliminated "mandatory" tipping.

iBlue said:
A few of us MRoomerers had APPALLING (I mean seriously appalling) service at a Pizza Express on regent street and paid the bill down to the very penny so as not to leave any tip for the useless prick of a waiter we had. He was most un-thrilled. but then so were we. ;)
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My cousin received horrible service at a restaurant one time with her kids. The waitress wasn't paying attention to them at first, so it took them a long time to order. When she finally took their order, she acted in a very rude manner. When she brought the food and drinks she practically slammed them down causing their contents to spill out. So my cousin didn't leave a tip. The waitress actually followed my cousin into the parking lot and screamed at her for not leaving a tip. :rolleyes:
 
Unspeaked said:
Tips are a joke.

I wish places would just charge the extra 10-20% and pay servers a reasonable wage. That would stop the whole dumb debate about whether or not to tip and when or how much.

That being said, until such a thing happens, I leave around 20% in nearly all situations. Sometimes, I leave a little more and once or twice I've left nothing at all.
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QFT
 
I agree tipping is basically part of the deal - if we didn't tip and waiters made more money, then the food would just cost more and the service quality would probably go down.

Having said that, I find that most servers expect 20% which in my mind is the top of potential. 10-15% if they are low to average, and less than that only if they have been blatantly offensive (I have only not tipped once).

My other big pet peeve (not sure if mentioned above) is places that create an automatic tip, based on party size. The whole point of a tip is to drive better service - if the waiter knows up front what the tip they have coming is, they aren't likely to work hard. Not only that, I have seen this automatic gratuity kick in at 6 people. SIX PEOPLE? Since when is an immediate family a "large group"?

I digress...
 
szark said:
I generally leave a good tip, but agree that the world might be a better place if we eliminated "mandatory" tipping.



My cousin received horrible service at a restaurant one time with her kids. The waitress wasn't paying attention to them at first, so it took them a long time to order. When she finally took their order, she acted in a very rude manner. When she brought the food and drinks she practically slammed them down causing their contents to spill out. So my cousin didn't leave a tip. The waitress actually followed my cousin into the parking lot and screamed at her for not leaving a tip. :rolleyes:
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Your cousin should have said "You want a tip? Here's one: Don't be rude and ignore your customers if you want your next tip to be cash instead of a piece of advice."

I hope your cousin never steps foot in that place again. Sounds horrific.
 
Oh and one other point - if I am at a very expensive restaurant (which I don't do all that often) and the bill is a couple hundred bucks, I don't know why we should feel inclined to tip $40. Likewise if I eat at a really cheap place, I may tip over 20% b/c even at that it only works out to less than a couple bucks. It sorta goes both ways.

The same is true of wine. The bottle is horribly marked up anyway, and all the server does is uncork it. A $20 bottle, which costs $40 at the restaurant, and then another $8 to open it? I understand not eating out if you cant afford to tip, but surely no one here things the waiter deserves $8 to open a bottle?
 
I will shell out at minimum 20%. I cannot stand cheap non-tippers. But bad service is just un acceptable and will get nothing from me... well maybe a tip in the form of a comment.:p
 
Look, all I have to say is: unless you've waited tables in an American restaurant, you have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Just tip.
 
leekohler said:
Because service staff get taxed on the amount they sell, not what they actually make.
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Pffft..no. Seriously ? really, that is very wrong. With this and the other things I've learned from this thread, I'm surprised waiters/waitresses are not walking the streets screaming about this .Protest marches and the like, do they do that?, they would in Europe for sure
 
marbles said:
Pffft..no. Seriously ? really, that is very wrong. With this and the other things I've learned from this thread, I'm surprised waiters/waitresses are not walking the streets screaming about this .Protest marches and the like, do they do that?, they would in Europe for sure
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No- they don't protest en-masse. It's a cultural difference, and it's fairly well-accepted. It seems insane to you, but it doesn't to us for the most part.

And yes, service staff get taxed on the amount they sell- not how much they make.
 
I tip extremely well. It's just something I consider part of the cost of going out.

For the most part, severs bust their ass and do the best they can, it's usually not their fault the guys in the kitchen screw things up.

The only dickish thing I've ever done to a server is get up from the table, and walk over to where she was making drinks so I could politely tell her that this dinner was very important to me, and ask could she please try a little harder. I said thank you, walked back to my table, service was fine for the rest of the night, and I left a great tip. I also thanked her again on my way out.
 
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